nuclear-news

Fukushima nuclear plant cleanup costs – $50 billion and climbing

With Fukushima nuclear plant still leaking, Japan clean-up bill soars to $50bn Many are sceptical that government-led effort will make area habitable again THE INDEPENDENT, DAVID MCNEILL TOKYO
WEDNESDAY 24 JULY 2013   Japanese researchers say the cost of cleaning up from the Fukushima nuclear disaster could top $50bn (£32.6bn), more than four times the amount allocated by the government.

The figure does not include compensation for those affected by the explosion and the subsequent fallout, or the multibillion-dollar price tag for decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which the
government and regulators say will take at least 40 years to complete……..
Japan’s government has allocated about $11bn (£7bn) to decontaminate
the zone. Most of the money is being paid to contractors who are using
power hoses and diggers to scour away dust and topsoil from the most
contaminated areas, but experts from the National Institute of
Advanced Industrial Science and Technology warn the total cost of
decontaminating the evacuation zone will be about $20bn (£13bn), with
another $30bn (£19.6bn) for areas further away.

Many are sceptical that the government-led clean-up effort will make
the area habitable again, or that evacuees will move back. “It doesn’t
matter what the government says, we’ll never go home. Most of us
accept that,” says Yukiko Kameya, 68, who fled from Futaba town, next
to the plant.

Tepco has yet to pay most refugees full compensation for the loss of
their homes and other assets.
Tepco has received an estimated 3.5 trillion yen in public money since
the disaster began. Last year, the government took majority control of
the utility, allowing it to continue as a limited company with shares
traded on the stock exchange.

Many observers believe the compensation process will drag on for
years, adding to the final bill for the disaster. “The victims of this
disaster often had large houses, rice fields, livestock and land and
most had to move into small urban apartments or temporary housing,”
says Yasushi Tadano, a Tokyo-based lawyer who is helping to sue Tepco.
“The amount of compensation being offered is totally insufficient.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/with-fukushima-nuclear-plant-still-leaking-japan-cleanup-bill-soars-to-50bn-8730832.html

July 26, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Fukushima 2013, Japan